Can opener



Oct. 29, 1963 N. D. HOSKINS 3,108,372

CAN OPENER Filed Aug. 50. 1961 INVENTOR. NATHAN D. HOSKINS Maseru! A TTORN E Y5.

United States Patent 3,108,372 CAN OPENER Nathan 1). Hoslrins, Hoskins Manufacturing Co., PO. Box 1562, Jackson, Tenn. Filed Aug. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 134,949 1 Claim. (Cl. 30-15) The present invention relates to can openers, more particularly of the type in which a propelling wheel engages beneath the upper rib of the can so that upon turning the propelling wheel a cutter blade is dragged about the periphery of the can lid thereby to separate the lid from the can The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a can opener that will fold to a desirably small and compact size and shape for carrying in the pocket or the like.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a can opener that will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, safe and easy to carry and operate, and rugged and durable in. use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a can on which an opener according to the present invention is being used;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of a can opener according to the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the side structure of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the parts in folded relationship.

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, there is shown a can opener indicated generally at 1 for use with a cylindrical can 3 of the usual construction, having a top 5 and a rim 7 by which the top is connected to the usual cylindrical side wall 9 of the can. As is usual, rim 7 projects above top 5 and outward from side wall 9.

The can opener consists of a body 111 in the form of a generally flat strip of metal. Approximately centrally of body 11, a shaft 13 projects through body 11 and carries on one side of and close to body 11 a head 15 and on the other side of an dclose to body 11 a conventional propelling wheel '17 having a serrated periphery to engage under the rim of the can to propel the opener about the can. Head 15 carries a handle 19 in the form of a flat strip of rnetal, handle 19 being joined to head 15 for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to body 11 and as close as possible to body 11, so that when handle 19 folds parallel to body 11 it will be as close to body 11 as is practical. Handle 19 has an opening 21 therethrough at one end, and a key chain 23 or the like permits the can opener to be carried on a key chain or on a belt or otherwise conveniently carried.

As noted above, body 11 is generally elongated, and adjacent one end thereof and quite close to the end edge of body 11 .a pivot pin 25 extends through a flat portion of body 11. Pin 25 is simply headed over on the same side as handle 19, but on the same side as wheel 17 pin 25 carries a cutter blade 27 mounted for pivotal movement thereon about the axis \of pivot pin 25 which in turn is perpendicular to the plane of body 11 and blade 27. A metal washer 29 spaces blade 27 from body 11 a distance about the same as or only slightly greater than the thickness of propelling Wheel 17.

Cutter blade 27 has a cutting edge 31 thereon at one end, the bulk of the remainder of blade 27 providing a handle 33 having at its end remote from pin 25 and edge 31 a bottle opener 35. The provision of a bottle opener 3,138,372 Patented Oct. 29, 1963 in the handle of a can opener is quite conventional and is not part of the present invention.

At the end of body 11 remote from pivot 25, a guide projection 37 extends to the same side as wheel 17 a distance about the thickness of wheel 17. At the same end of body 11 as blade 27, a guide bar 39 projects outward to the same side of body 11 as guide projection 37 but to a greater distance, so that bar 39 extends outward beyond the outer surface of blade 27.

The relative positions of the parts of the present invcntion are quite important. Notice that when the opener is in operative position in connection with the can, as shown in FIGURE 1, bar 39 overlies and rests on rim 7 while projection 37 engages against the cylindrical side Wall 9 of the can. In this position, pivot pin 25 is uppermost, while cutting edge 31 is disposed diagonally downward from and only a short distance ahead of pin 25 in the direction of can opening movement, that is, generally clockwise in FIGURE 1. At the same time, cutter blade 27 which provides a handle 33 is almost horizontal. Thus, with propelling wheel 17 engaged beneath rim 7 and handle 19 turned counterclockwise as seen in FIGURE 1, cutting edge 31 is dragged into and cuts entirely about the periphery of lid 5 with only slight downward pressure on handle 33.

To this end, it should be noted that cutting edge 31 and guide bar 39 are on opposite sides of pivot pin 25 in the fully extended position of FIGURE 2, with cutting edge 31 about as far from pivot 25 as is guide bar 39. Then, as cutter blade 27 is folded from the position of FIGURE 3 to the collapsed position .of FIGURE 4, it overlies not only propelling wheel 17 but also guide projection 37, since neither of these latter tWo parts extends quite as far out from body 11 as does blade 27. If desired, guide projection 37 and blade 27 may cont-act each other in the collapsed position of FIGURE 4 without departing from the scope of this invention.

At the same time, handle 19 can be folded down from the position of FIGURE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4 about an axis perpendicular to the axis of shaft 13, so that handle 19 lies parallel to and closely spaced from body 11 and also parallel to but on the opposite side of body 11 from blade 27. *In this collapsed position of the parts, handle 19, body 11, and blade 27 are roughly longitudinally coextensive and overlie each other lengthwise. It is thus important that in the fully extended position of the parts shown in FIGURE 2, pin 25 be closely adjacent one end of each of body 11 and blade 27, so that upon movement to the folded position shown in FIGURE 4, blade 27 and body 11 can overlie each other longitudinally.

It is also important that handle 19 in folded position overlie the other parts, and for this purpose it should be noted that shaft 13 is roughly central of body 11.

Another important feature of the invention is the position of cutting edge 31 relative to guide bar 39. As mentioned above, these are about equal distances from pivot pin 25, so that when blade 27 is folded to the position of FIGURE 4, cutting edge 31 will swing clockwise from its position shown in FIGURE 2 until it almost touches guide bar 39. In this swung position, the a dull or blunt side of the projection that carries edge 31 can contact bar 39. This leaves cutting edge 31 exposed and does not dull it by contact with bar 39; but at the same time, bar 39 protects the clothing or the fingers of the user against cutting edge 31 in the folded position of the can opener, for cutting edge 31 is disposed closely adjacent guide bar 39 and guide bar 39 projects outward a distance beyond cutting edge 31, so that if the folded can opener is carried for example in the pocket, bar 39 will keep the cloth of the pocket from contacting cutting edge 31. Similarly, in the presence of projecting guide bar 39, there is less chance of cutting the fingers on the cutting edge of the opener when that cutting edge is closely adjacent bar 39. Also, the detent action of bar 39 against the blunt rear side of edge 31 provides a stop that limits swinging movement of blade 27 relative to body 11 so that upon folding blade 27 clockwise relative to body 11 as seen in FIGURE 2, blade 27 and guide bar 39 contact each other to limit that swinging movement so that blade 27 and body 11 overlie each other lengthwise in the folded position. Indeed, folding movement of blade 27 clockwise as seen in FIGURE 2 is limited only by bar 39. Similarly, when handle 19 is folded down as seen in FIGURE 4 and is brought into parallelism with body 11 and blade 27, its opening 21 is disposed at one end of the assembly so that the folded can opener can hang from chain 23 or the like as by one end of the opener.

In view of the foregoing disclosure, it will be obvious that all the initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readily References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,617,148 Chase Feb. 8, 1927 2,061,208 Polak Nov. 17, 1936 2,296,073 Walgo Sept. 15, 1942 2,588,347 Bown Mar. 11, 1952 2,602,223 Pauhu July 8, 1952 2,975,515 Land Mar. 21, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 447,308 Great Britain May 15, 1936 345,596 Italy Jan. 11, 1937 463,400 Italy Apr. 30, 1951 

